Arne Slot has heaped praise on Liverpool's fringe players following the 3-2 Carabao Cup fourth round win over Brighton.
Luis Diaz's goal sandwiched between strikes from Simon Adingra and Tariq Lamptey ultimately ensured the holders survived a late scare on the south coast to progress to the quarter-finals, with Cody Gakpo the star of the show as he netted twice and was a constant threat throughout.
But the Dutchman wasn't the only Reds player to catch the eye at the Amex Stadium.
Had it not been for some crucial saves from Vitezslav Jaros - on his full senior competitive debut for Liverpool - at 0-0 and not too long after Gakpo had broken the deadlock in the second half, the outcome could have been very different.
Though Slot was quick to acknowledge the Czechia international's heroics with his hands, he was equally impressed with the goalkeeper's ball-playing ability as the 23-year-old kept cool when faced with Brighton's aggressive high press.
"I like the last thing you say because everybody could see how important his saves were," the Liverpool boss said. "I think the first big chance of the game was for them where he saved the one-versus-one and in the second half of course we all remember one or two saves as well.
"But he also added to that how comfortable he was with the ball at his feet: making the right choices on when to go short and when to clip the ball towards the striker, and it helped for him the quality Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez brought in build-up. So, I liked that triangle today a lot in ball possession."
Jaros was one of eight changes made to the Liverpool lineup after Sunday’s pulsating 2-2 Premier League draw with title rivals Arsenal, with the likes of Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, Wataru Endo and Tyler Morton all handed opportunities.
It seemed somewhat of a risky decision by Slot, but one that paid off as not only did his rotated side emerge victorious to set up a quarter-final date against Southampton in December, but he's also now been presented with a welcome team selection headache moving forward.
"Yeah, it was definitely [tough]. If you have to come here you know it’s going to be a difficult game because of the style of play, because of the recruitment they have here over the last few years," he added.
"And then to get away from here with a result, with a win, is of course very pleasing.
"For the long-term, I really liked what I see from players that haven’t played that much this season yet, that they were able to play a similar style that we usually do and they brought quality into the game, so that makes it even harder for me to make lineups in the upcoming weeks."
